After the health scare, O'Donnell, who was 230 lbs., started a doctor-ordered exercise and diet plan – daily walks and reduced red meat, carbohydrates and sugar in her diet – but the pounds did not come off.

"She tried to lose weight on her own but it wasn't working," her spokesperson Cindi Berger told PEOPLE in February.

"It was a life saving surgery," Berger said. "But it's only a tool, not a cure."